Jeff Hafley Named Packers’ Biggest Offseason Move

The Green Bay Packers shocked everyone when they made the playoffs during the 2023 season. In their first season of the Jordan Love era, things went very well, setting what should be a strong foundation for the future.

Not looking to rest on their laurels, the Packers made several big changes during the 2024 offseason. General manager Brian Gutekunst addressed several major needs on the roster, with the most extensive changes coming at safety.

The team paid big money to Xavier McKinney in free agency, signing him away from the New York Giants. The revamp wasn’t done there, as the Packers also selected three safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Along with the safety spot, Green Bay also made changes at linebacker. While no free agent signings were made, the team did select two players in the draft; Edgerrin Cooper in the second round and Ty’Ron Hopper in the third

They should be immediate contributors at the second level of the defense, helping to replace veteran De’Vondre Campbell. But, the biggest change for the Packers is who will be running the defense. In the opinion of Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Jeff Hafley being hired as defensive coordinator is the team’s biggest offseason acquisition.

“…But that all pales in comparison to bringing in Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator to replace the fired Joe Barry. While Hafley has extensive NFL assistant coaching experience, he came directly from Boston College and made the unusual move to leave a college head-coaching position for an NFL coordinator job,” wrote Demovsky.

Under Joe Barry, the team had some underwhelming defensive performances. Despite being loaded with first-round picks, the unit never gelled and performed at a level as high as the front office and ownership would have liked.

As a result, Jeff Hafley is taking over. As Demovsky noted, his path back to the NFL is an unorthodox one, as he stepped down as head coach of Boston College to take the coordinator job. He will have some pressure on him to perform right away but has the talent to oversee a top-10 defense in the NFL.

The biggest change will be schematically for players. Barry ran a 3-4 base defense, while Hafley will install a 4-3. That means positional changes for some players, as edge rushers will be defensive ends now instead of linebackers.